crow,
I think you have to weigh the harm from the enforcement to the practice. There are already lots of laws that prevent you from endangering your children or others by operating a vehicle or performing other public acts. You aren't allowed to take or do ANYTHING, legal or otherwise, that impairs you.
I would think that second hand smoke is harmful, no matter what is being burned, short of hydrogen. So burning it in front of your child, well that is just like smoking near your child - a bad idea.
Your dog? How much time are we going to spend worrying about stoned dogs? I don't care that much.
I think impairment tests for truckers (and ALL drivers) would be a good idea. You could have a smart card that memorizes your baseline performance score on a video game like test. At any time you can be called upon to perform the test at the discretion of an officer. You must score at least 90%, let's say. If you are off 30% because you are tired or because you smoked a joint, what's the practical difference? None.
The family of someone you kill due to impairment isn't going to be happier that it was "only" lack of sleep, or "only" a joint, or "only" speed, or even "only" Alzheimers or "only" because you had a burger in one hand and a cell phone in the other. None of these should be protected or treated differently, IMO. |
